Volume I Part 35 (1/2)
”Upon what?”
”The life of the Sultan, thy father.”
”Speak not in riddles, O Prince.”
”Upon his death, thou wilt enter on the sovereignty.”
”Still I see not clearly.”
”With the horoscope of Mahommed the Sultan in my hand, then certainly as the stars perform their circuits, being set thereunto from the first morning, they must respond to me; and then, find I Mars in the Ascendant, well dignified essentially and accidentally, I can lead my Lord out of the darkness.”
”Then, Prince?”
”He may see the Christian capital at his mercy.”
”But if Mars be not in the Ascendant?”
”My Lord must wait.”
Mahommed sprang to his feet, gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth.
”My Lord,” said the Prince, calmly, ”a man's destiny is never unalterable; it is like a pitcher filled with wine which he is carrying to his lips--it may be broken on the way, and its contents spilled. Such has often happened through impatience and pride. What is waiting but the wise man's hour of preparation?”
The quiet manner helped the sound philosophy. Mahommed took seat, remarking, ”You remind me, Prince, of the saying of the Koran, 'Whatsoever good betideth thee, O man, it is from G.o.d, and whatsoever evil betideth, from thyself is it.' I am satisfied. Only”--
The Prince summoned all his faculties again.
”Only I see two periods of waiting before me; one from this until I take up the sovereignty; the other thence till thou bringest me the mandate of the stars. I fear not the second period, for, as thou sayest, I can then lose myself in making ready; but the first, the meantime--ah, Prince, speak of it. Tell me how I can find surcease of the chafing of my spirit.”
The comprehension of the wily Hebrew did not fail him. His heart beat violently. He was master! Once more he was in position to change the world. A word though not more than ”now,” and he could marshal the East, which he so loved, against the West, which he so hated. If Constantinople failed him, Christianity must yield its seat to Islam. He saw it all flash-like; yet at no time in the interview did his face betoken such placidity of feeling. The _meantime_ was his, not Mahommed's--his to lengthen or shorten--his for preparation. He could afford to be placid.
”There is much for my Lord to do,” he said.
”When, O Prince--now?”
”It is for him to think and act as if Constantinople were his capital temporarily in possession of another.”
The words caught attention, and it is hard saying what Mahommed's countenance betokened. The reader must think of him as of a listener just awakened to a new idea of infinite personal concern.
”It is for him now to learn the city within and without,” the Jew proceeded; ”its streets and edifices; its halls and walls; its strong and weak places; its inhabitants, commerce, foreign relations; the character of its ruler, his resources and policies; its daily events; its cliques and clubs, and religious factions; especially is it for him to foment the differences Latin and Greek.”
It is questionable if any of the things imparted had been so effective upon Mahommed as this one. Not only did his last doubt of the man talking disappear; it excited a boundless admiration for him, and the freshest novitiate in human nature knows how almost impossible it is to refuse trust when once we have been brought to admire. ”Oh!” Mahommed cried. ”A pastime, a pastime, if I could be there!”
”Nay, my Lord,” said the insidious counsellor, with a smile, ”how do kings manage to be everywhere at the same time?”
”They have their Amba.s.sadors. But I am not a king.”
”Not yet a king”--the speaker laid stress upon the adverb--”nevertheless public representation is one thing; secret agency another.”
Mahommed's voice sank almost to a whisper.